Hope that a deal will be reached to avoid the fiscal cliff lifted the markets to a higher close with the Dow rising 45 points to 12,588. Nasdaq gained 16 points to 2853.On the upside

Oppenheimer upgraded OSI Systems (Nasdaq: OSIS) to an Outperform rating.Reckitt Benckiser Group offered a premium of approximately $1.4 billion to acquire Schiff Nutrition International (Nasdaq: SHF), which has already received a $1.2 billion bid from Bayer.Rumors that Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) may convert into a real estate investment trust lifted shares of the retirement facilities operator.On the downsideVelti (Nasdaq: VELT) extended its losses after posting a third quarter loss after market close on Wednesday.Shares of Ruckus Wireless (NYSE: RKUS) tumbled in its market debut.Dole (NYSE: DOLE) disappointed with an expected loss for the third quarter.In the broad market, advancing issues outpaced decliners by a margin by nearly 3 to 1 on the NYSE and by more than 7 to 5 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks climbed 6 points to 776.